9 Oct 2017

Lawrence Crompton is the man behind Yokai Motorcycle Engineering. Lawrence makes beautiful 100% hand-engineered universal motorcycle products in Manchester, UK. I asked Lawrence to tell us about is work and how he started;

"Like a lot of us motorcycle enthusiasts I started out looking at myfirst bike thinking, “this isn't mine until I've done something to it”. I'dlike to think the majority of us, irrespective of our experience orknowledge love to tinker. In a sea of press-mould cars for press-mould people, motorcycles still offer a great scope for individuality.Whether you want to build something from the frame up, or just addsome stickers to your helmet, it's the feeling that this is “me”.Logically, I went for the peripherals, lights, handlebars etc... Isearched online and a couple of days later a small plain boxarrived. Inside was a tail light that you can still find on eBay today.Stamped Made in China, it never felt right having something mass-produced with such little passion or quality on a motorcycle that wasmeant to be unique. I must've had that light apart every otherjourney, repairing connections that faltered every time you hit abump. Eventually, it ended up in the bits box, already rusting with amelted lens...At the time I was working for an aluminium extrusion company as aCAD draughtsman, but that wasn't my passion, and for better orworse I was made redundant just before Christmas. Luckily, I'vebeen blessed to grow up with a Dad who has always had a lathe inhis workshop. The smell of cutting oil and swarf on the carpets wascompletely natural to me and it seemed the right time to trysomething new.Operating just outside Manchester England, I started YokaiMotorcycle Engineering, as a way to address a gap in the marketthat I felt was apparent for originally designed, well-thought out andlovingly hand-engineered products. I turn my products using,traditional manual techniques, without the use of any computer-based machinery. The designs are unique, and completely originalto the point where I make a lot of my own tooling and jigs.Everything you see is 100% meticulously crafted in my workshop.When people purchase my work, whether it's lighting, footpegs, oranything else I might produce in the future, I want them to feelinspired by my passion as an engineer. To know that these itemsweren't thrown out of a factory at top speed for maximum profit withbuilt-in obsolescence, but instead made with love to a standard thatI am proud to share.All of my products are hand-turned from start to finish in high-qualityaluminium. Any other fitments, such as mouting legs are stainlesssteel. I feel this combination of materials provides excellent weatherresistance, as well as strength and longevity. As mentioned before, Ireally don't believe in built-in obsolescence. To me, it's a sign ofpoor design and it is disrespectful to your customers. And so anybulbs that I use are readily available and cost-effective to replace.They come in a variety of colours and this multi-functionality addsfurther scope to how you can use my products. Unless stated Ialways use dual-function LED bulbs, so that they will work asrunning AND tail/brake lights. I know LED clusters are a popularchoice for a lot of people, and I often get asked why I don't usethem. The answer is simply that they are hard-wired into your loom,and to replace them means a lot more work than simply swappingout a bulb. I know that to many of you reading this, soldering a newcluster isn't the end of the world, but there are those who prefer aless invasive method. As someone who puts in a few miles too Ialways prefer the idea of carrying a couple of spare bulbs, just incase.Finally, where possible all my products feature a hand-stampedYokai Motorcycle Engineering logo. This is my maker's mark whichI'm proud to display on each product. This subtle detail isn't there todetract from the overall design, but rather to just remind you thatthese were made by a person who shares your passion for twowheels."

Go to the Yokai webshop to see all his product and check his instafor to stay up to date about new product.

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Lennard Schuurmans is hunting down the good stuff on planet cool to post for you on Bubble Visor. In the spirit of Bubble Visor he started the Barn Fresh Company in 2012. Old fashioned high quality garments. Support this blog and buy his Barn Fresh products.